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6. Prefixes

A prefix is a syllable, or several syllables attached in front of a word

- the stem - to add a new meaning. Prepositions and numerals are

prefixes in this sense. By knowing the meaning of the prefix, the

meaning of an unknown word can easily be guessed, and

recognizing a prefix is very helpful to vocabulary building and

understanding of scientific texts. Sometimes, there is no clear

distinction between prefix and stem. Words that are missed in this

list may appear in the following list of word stems, and vice versa.

There are cases where several prefixes have the same meaning (e.g.

a-, in-, il-, un- all have the meaning ‘not’). In other cases the same

prefix can have several meanings (e.g. ab- can mean either ‘not’ or

‘away from’). Many words evolved naturally during the

advancement of the language. Thus the differences in meaning, or

the reason why this particular prefix is used, often cannot be

explained.

Here is an alphabetical list of prefixes, meanings, and examples.

a- not, against apolar, atactic

ab- not abnormal

ab- away from absent

ac up to, near acretion

ad- towards, up to adsorption, adhere

an- out of anachronism

ant- against antagonist

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ante- before anteroom

anti- opposite antiparticle, antibiotic

at- toward attraction

back- reverse backreaction

back- behind backfire, background

bi-, bis- two bisphenol, biped, bipolar, bicycle

centi- 1/100 centimeter, centrigrade

co- together with cooperation, coexistance

con- with, together conference

com- with, together compress

contra- against, opposite contradict, contrary

col- together collaborate

counter- opposite counterproductive, counterattack

de- undo, reverse decrease, debug, detach

deca- ten decade

demi- half demitasse

di- two dimer,

dis- not dishonest, dislike

dis- undo discharge, disengage

dys- not dyslexia

e- ex- out of eject, evaporate

en- in, within enclose, envision, enter

ex- out exterminate

hecto- hundred hectoliter

hepta- seven heptamer

hexa- six hexagonal

im- in immerse

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im- not immiscible

in- in inject

in- not incorrect, independent

ir- into irrigate, irradiate

ir- not irregular

juxta- near, close to juxtaposition

kilo- thousand kilogram, kilometer

mal- bad malfunction

mega- million megabyte

mis- bad, wrong misfit, miscalculation

mono- single monomer, monolingual

non- not nonnatural, nonflammable

non- nine nonane

oct- eight octopus, octane

oligo- a few oligomer

out- surpass outnumber, outperform

out- outside outline, outskirts

out- proceed from outlook

penta- five pentagon

post- after postgraduate

pre- before premature, preformed

pre- preeminent

per- through perform, perennial

per- largest possible perfluoreethylene, perchlorate

pro- in favour of pro-life

quadr- four quadrant

quinqu- five quinquesection

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re- back retract

re- again resubmit, reenter

semi- half semicircle, semiconductor

sept- seven sepuagint

sex- six sexiterpene

sub- under substrate, submarine

sub- a lesser part subdivision

succ under succumb

sym together symphony, sympathy, symbiosis

syn- together synthesis

tetra- four tetravalent

tri three tripod

tris- three trisphenol

un- not unclear

un- reverse unwind, unfold

uni- one unique, uniform

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7. word stems

Many words contain one or more stems. The meaning of the word

can be guessed by looking at the origin of the stem.

Ac highest point accumulate

Acoustic to hear acoustic nerve

Acro high, up acrobat, acropolis

Actin ray actinium

Aer air aerial, aerodynamic

Aeste to perceive aesthetic, anaesthesia

Agro tilled land agriculture

Alio other alien

Allelo of one another parallel

Allo other allotropy, allergy

Alti high altitude

Ambul to walk ambulant

Amnes oblivion amnsesty

Amphy both amphibian, amphiphile

Amyl starch amyl acohol

Ana backwards, upward anachronism

Andro man androgen, android

Anemo wind anemometer

Angio (blood) vessel angiocardiography

Anglo English anglosaxon,

anglo-american

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Aniso dissimilar anisotropic

Ann year annual, anniversary

Anonym nameless anonymous

Antho flower anthocyan,

Chrysanthemum

Anthro related to humans anthropology

Apo away from apology, apostrophe

Aqua water aqueous

Arachne spider arachnid

Archa ancient, old archeology,

archebacteria

Arithm number logarithm

Aster star asterix, asteroid

Astro constellation astronaut

Atmo vapor atmosphere

Atom un + cut atomic, atom

Aud hear audio, audience, Audi

Austra south Australopithecus

Auto self automobile

Bath deep bathochrome,

bathyscape

Bary- heavy baryon, barium

Bibli related to books bibliography

Bio life biology, antibiotic

Bono good bonus

Bov cow bovine

Brachu short brachycardy

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Brady slow bradycardy

Caco bad cacophony

Canis dog canine

Cardio heart cardiovascular

Chron time chronograph, chronology

Chrom color chromosome, chromogen

Circum around circumfence

Cirrus curled cirrus clouds

Clon branch, twig clone

Clos shut close, disclose

Corp body corporation, corpse

Cosmo order, the universe cosmos, cosmetic

Cred believe credit, credibility

Cumul heap accumulate

Cryo cold cryoelectronics

Crypto hidden cryptography

Cyber computer mediated cyber-journal

Cyto cell cytoplasm

Demo people democracy

Dermo skin dermatitis

Dia across diameter

Dict say predict, dictionary

Didact teach didactic, autodidact

Digi finger digit, digitalis

Domino Lord dominant

Domus house domestic

Duct lead product, conduct

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Dyna powerful/force dynamite, dynamic

Ecto outside ectoderm

Em blood anemic

Encephalo brain encephalogram

Endo inside endoscope

Epi above epicenter

Erythro red erythrocyte

Eu well euphoria exo- outside exosphere Extra beyond, outside extracellular

Fact make manufacture

Femina woman feminine

Flu flow fluoride, fluid

Gam marriage gamete, polygamy

Gen birth generate, genetic

Geo earth geology, geography

Gno to know diagnose, agnostic

Graft attach graft-copolymer

Graph to write graphic

Gregarious community segregation, aggregation

Gyne woman gynecology

Hal salt halogen

Haplo single haploid

Hem (brit. haem) blood hemophilia

Hetero other than usual, heterogeneous

different heterosexual

other than carbon heteroatom, heterocyclic

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Hiero sacred hierarchy, hieroglyph

Homo same homologue, homophilic

Homo man hominid

Hora hour, season horoscope

Hydro water hydrogen, carbohydrate

Hyper excessive hyperactive

Hypno sleep hypnosis

Hypo below hypodermic needle

Ichtu fish ichthyology

Inter between international

Inter reciprocal interrelation

Intra within, during intracellular

Iso similar, same isotope, isoelectric

Ject throw eject, project, inject

Labor work laboratory

Leuco white leucocyte

Lipo fat lipide, lipophilic

Logo thought, word logic, biology

Luc light luciferase

Lum shine illuminate, lumen

Magno big magnitude

Major bigger major

Manu hand manual

Mar sea marine

Maxi biggest maximum

Mega very large megaphone

Melan black, ink melanome

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Melior better ameliorate

Micro small micrometer

Mini small minidisk

Mit send emit, transmit

Miss send missile

Macro long macromolecule

Micro- small microscope

Mono alone monomer, monolog

Multi many multifunctional, multiple

Mous patron of the arts music, museum

Nano dwarf nanometer,

nanotechnology

Naut sailor, ship nautical, astronaut

Necro corpse, death necrotic tissue

Neo new neon, neonatal

Nil, nihil nothing nihilism, annihilate

Noct night nocturnal

Nov new novel, innovation

Oligo a few oligomer

Omni all, universally omnipotent

Oo egg oocyte

Optimo best optimist, optimal

Opus, oper work operation

Ortho normal, straight orthography, orthodox

Over beyond overlap

Over too much overproduction

Oxy sharp, sour, acid oxygen

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Pan all, complete pantheism

Path feeling sympathy, pathetic

Path suffering pathology

Pause to stop menopause, tropopause

Ped foot pedal

Peri around perimeter, periphery

Petri/petro stone petroleum, petrified

Phag eat macrophage

Phil like hydrophilic

Phob dislike hydrophobic,xenophobic

Phon voice phonograph, phonetic

Photo light photosynthesis

Phyte plant neophyte

Plic fold complicate

Pod foot podium, tripod

Pol axis polarize, North Pole

Poly many polymer, polymorph

Port carry portable, transport

Pos put deposit, compose

Proto beginning protoplast

give rise to prototype

Psycho life, spirit psychology

Psychro cold psychrometer

Puls drive, push pulse, impulse

Pyro fire pyromaniac

Heat pyrogen

Retro back retrovirus

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Rhin nose rhinitis, rhinoceros

Rota wheel rotation

Sauro lizard dinosaur

Scend climb ascend, descend

Sclero hard arteriosclerosis

Scop observe microscope, telescope

Sequ(secu) follow sequence, consecutive

Sophia wisdom philosophy

Sphere Ball biosphere, spherulite

Solv release solve, dissolve, solvent

Some body lysosome

Sophia wisdom philosophy

Spect look inspect, spectroscopy

speculation

Super beyond supersonic,

Superstructure

Supra transcending supraconductivity

Stat state static

Strain bind constrain, restrain

Stroma bed cover stromatite

Tachy- speed tachometer, tachycardia

Tact touch intact, contact

Tact order isotactic

Tele at a distance telescope, telemetry

Tele related to

television telegenic

Telo- end, complete teloblast, telomer

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Tempor time temporal, contemporary

Terra land terrestial

The god theology

Therm hot thermometer

Tomo cut, section atom, tomography

Tox bow, poison toxic, intoxicated

Tract draw contract, attract

Trans- across transport,

transmembrane

Tropo to turn troposphere

Ultra- extreme ultrasound, ultraviolet

Vac cow vaccine Val strength value, evaluation

Vas (blood) vessel vascular

Vert turn invert, vertical

Vet beast of burden veterinary

Virus, viro slime, poison virus

Vis look visible, vision

Vit(a) life vitamin, vital

Xeno strange xenon, xenograft

Xero dry xerocopy, Xerox

Xul wood xylophone

Zoo animal zoology

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8. Suffixes

A suffix is a syllable added to the end of a word to add new meaning.

Words can be easier understood and grouped by recognizing the

suffix. Here is a list of suffixes.

-able adjective adorable, flammable

-ad group triad

-agogy leading pedagogy, demagogy

-al adjective

(from noun) functional

-ant having a

property deodorant

-ant adjective flamboyant

-archy rule,

leadership gynarchy, anarchy

-ase enzyme lipase, ligase, oxidase

-c(o)ele body cavity mucocoel or mucocoele

-cele tumor,

hernia hydatidocele

-centesis puncturing amniocentesis, rachicentesis

-chondrion small

grainlike

structure mitochondrion, chondrite

-cide murder,

killing agent suicide, insecticide

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-cracy rule,

government democracy, androcracy

-cy noun pregnancy

-cycle circle, cycle epicycle, hydrocycle

-ectasis stretching

out brochiectasis, telangiectasia

-ectomy surgical

removal laryngectomy, vasectomy

-emesis vomiting hematemesis, hyperemesis

-emia blood

condition leukemia, anaemia

-enchyma cellular

tissue mesenchyma, karyenchyma

-ent noun

(from verb) propellent, descent

-esthesis, sensation,

feeling synesthesia, kinesthesis

-fied made to

become liquefied, humidified, solidified

-fier machine with

function humidifier

-fugal traveling

away from,

expelling centrifugal

-gon geometric

shape hexagon

-hedron geometric

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solid icosahedron, tetrahedron

-holic love,

addiction alcoholic

-ic adjective polemic

-ics field fluidics, mathematics

-id skin rash syphilid

-ion action suction, ignition

-ism doctrine, act,

practice Protestantism, Buddhism

-ism concept magnetism

-ist person chemist

-ite mineral Wernerite, hematite

-itis disease,

inflammation hepatitis, gingivitis

-itude noun attitude, certitude

-ity noun, state normality

-ium metallic

element sodium (exception: helium)

-ize verb

(for action) sterilize, polymerize

-izer noun energizer, homogenizer

-kinesis movement

(ability ) telekinesis

-less lack of useless, formless

-ly adverb lovingly

-lysis dissolve hydrolysis

-mania motive for a

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belief, action kleptomania, megalomania

-ment noun

(from verb) development, increment

-meter instrument

to measure altimeter, spectrometer

-metry method spectrometry

-ogram description diagram

-ography writing biography

-oid resembling solenoid, hominoid

-ology study,

science planetology, biology

-omics area of study proteomics, economics

-on smallest part

of a state or

particle exciton, photon, electron

-onomy knowledge of astronomy

-onym name, word synonym

-oma cancer carcinoma, sarcoma

-osis process,

action mitosis, osmosis

-osis formation ostosis

-osis diseased

condition psychosis

-phage eating macrophage, esophagus

-philia attraction hemophilia

-philic attracted to hydrophilic

-phobia fear xenophobia

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-phobic repelled by,

fearing hydrophobic

-potent power omnipotent

-science knowing omniscience

-scope instrument

for viewing microscope, telescope

-ship circle,

state of friendship, relationship

-stan land, country Afghanistan

-tomy surgery vasectomy

-tor something or

someone detector, refrigerator

-tropism to turn phototropism

-us inflammation ulcus

-ward direction southward

-wise direction clockwise

The suffix also allows to determine the class of a word and the

change of a word from one class to another.

Some examples of English derivational suffixes:

adjective-to-noun: -ness slow slowness

adjective-to-verb: -ize modern modernize

noun-to-adjective: -al recreation recreational

adjective-to-adverb: -ly slow slowly

noun-to-verb: -fy glory glorify

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verb-to-adjective: -able drink drinkable

verb-to-noun: -ance deliver deliverance

Latin verbs

Some English verbs have their origin in Latin.

ago, actus do, move act

audio hear audible

cedo, cessi, depart recede

cludo (claudo) close conclusion

duco, ductus pull, lead conduct

facio, feci make, do efficient

fero, ferre carry, bring reference

gradior (gredior) pace, step gradient

iacio, ieci throw eject

ludo, lusi play collusion

mergo, mersi dip (in), sink immerse

mitto, misi send emit, missile

nosco, gnosco know gnostic, notable

pono, posui put position

premo, pressi push pressure

rumpo, rupi break rupture

scribo, scripsi write manuscript

sum, es, fut be essence, future

verto, vers turn reverse

video, vis see vision

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volvo, volvi, roll revolve

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9. Numerical prefixes

These numerical prefixes are from the Latin language:

Whole numbers:

1. uni- 2. duo- or bi- 3. tri- or tre-

4. quadri- 5. quinque- 6. sex-

7. septua- 8. octo- 9. nona-

10. deci- 11. Undeci- 12. Dodeci-

100. cent- 1000. mill-

Fractions:

1/2. semi- 3/2. sesqui-

The following numerical prefixes are from the Greek language:

1. mono 2. di 3. tri

4. tetra 5. penta 6. hexa

7. hepta 8. octa 9. ennea

10. deca 11. hendeca 12. dodeca

13. triskaideka 14. tetradeca 20. icosa

21. icosakaihena 30. triconta 100. hecta

1000. chilia 10,000. myria

In chemistry, the use of numerical prefixes is not regular. For

example here is the series of alkanes which uses a mix of proper

names (pn) , and Latin (l) and Greek (g) prefixes:

Methane (pn), ethane (pn), propane (pn), butane (pn), pentane (g),

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hexane (g), heptane (g), octane (g and l), nonane (l), decane (g),

undecane (l), dodecane (g), tridecane (g). C20H42 is called icosane,

C30H62 is called triacontane.

When two numerical prefixes are used directly after another, an

ending is attached to the first one, e.g. trispentylphenol means that

three (tri) pentyl (alkyl chains with 5 carbon atoms) units are

connected to phenol.

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SI prefixes

Factor Name Symbol

1024 yotta Y

1021 zetta Z

1018 exa E

1015 peta P

1012 tera T

109 giga G

106 mega M

103 kilo k

102 hecto h

101 deka da

Factor Name Symbol

10-1 deci d

10-2 centi c

10-3 milli m

10-6 micro µ

10-9 nano n

10-12 pico p

10-15 femto f

10-18 atto a

10-21 zepto z

10-24 yocto y